Study Finds Poorer People Order Larger Food Sizes to Feel More Important

Researchers from the French business school École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris and Illinois’ Northwestern University might have discovered a reason that poorer people tend to eat larger portions of food.

The new study, to be published in the April 2012 print edition of the Journal of Consumer Research, found that since larger items — such as houses, cars or flat-screen TVs — tend to be associated with wealth, success and high social status, financially disadvantaged people may try to compensate for their lower status by buying larger portion sizes of food to show others that they can afford them.

In one of the experiments, participants perceived consumers who bought the biggest size of coffee at a cafe to have a higher status than those who chose smaller sizes, even when the prices for all sizes were the same. Other experiments showed poorer people ordered larger sizes of food and drinks when they were around other people than they did when they were alone.

However, when the “powerless” participants were told that prestigious events tend to serve smaller hors d’oeuvres, they then chose smaller food items that had fewer calories.

“Understanding and monitoring the size-to-status relationship of food options within an assortment is an important tool at the disposal of policymakers to effectively fight against overconsumption,” the study’s authors wrote.

Welcome back to Q VIP

It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on .
To keep your personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you.
To activate your account, please confirm your password.
When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites.

*Please note that your prizes and activities will not be shared between programs within our VIP network.

Welcome back to Q VIP

It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to http://kqvt.com using your original account information.